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Hosted by
John Nesbitt
Season
1 (CBS) (Early 1956)
Episode Guide
compiled by The Classic TV Archive
with contributions by:
J. Fred MacDonald (www.macfilms.com),
Tom Alger,
Rina Fox
references:
TV Guide /
Library of Congress (telnet://locis.loc.gov)
Internet Movie Database (https://us.imdb.com)
UCLA Film and Television Archive / Writers Guild of America (wga)
####### Telephone Time #######
######## season 1 1956 #######
###########################
CBS Sun 6:00-6:30pm Eastern
1.01 Telephone Time: THE GOLDEN JUNKMAN
08-Apr-1956 CBS Sun
Produced by Jerry Stagg
Written by Donald S. Sanford
Directed by Roy Kellino
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Lon Chaney Jr. ..... Jules Samenian
Robert Arthur ...... Alex
Corey Allen ........ Philip
Peter Brocco ....... Constantin
Ronald Anton ....... Philip (as a child)
Jimmy Baird ........ Alex (as a child)
Leslie Dennison .... Professor Caudle
Marshall Bradford .. Professor Scott
John Tuggle
Thomas Brown Henry
Synopsis 1:
True story of an Armenian immigrant who overcomes all odds to become
a wealthy and educated man: after his wife's death, he rears his beloved sons
in old-world simplicity, only to have them turn on him and call him an ignorant peddler.
Hurt, but not discouraged, he begins to educate himself by studying the encyclopedia and
ultimately returns to college to earn his degree
and the respect of his children. [RF]
Synopsis 2:
A hardworking, old-world immigrant raises two sons by himself while becoming
very successful in the junkyard business. His sons attend the best college, but to the
father's dismay, they resent and are embarrassed by his crude style and mannerisms.
Undaunted, the man sends himself to college and proves to be a brilliant student with
an encyclopedic mind. The family is lovingly reunited when the boys see their
father for the kind, loving, generous, happy,
well-liked man that he has become. [RF]
Synopsis 3:
An immigrant establishes a successful junk business in San Francisco,
but he loses the respect of his twin sons because of his lack of education and polish.
So the middle-aged magnate decides to go to college. [RF]
**
* Note there is an unusual pilot of The Golden Junkman which has
George Tobias in the role that later was played
by Lon Chaney Jr.
1.02 Telephone Time: MAN WITH A BEARD
15-Apr-1956 CBS Sun
Producer Jerry Stagg
Written by John Nesbitt (Emmy nomination)
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Walter Coy ....... Joe Palmer
Beverly Washburn ....... Susan
Synopsis:
During the 1800s, a Massachusetts farmer was sentenced to prison for
wearing a beard, defying convention in the town in which he lived.
1.03 Telephone Time: CAPTAIN FROM KOPENICK
22-Apr-1956 CBS Sun
Producer Jerry Stagg
Written by Norman Lessing
Based on the story by John Clifford Mortimer
Directed by Laszlo Benedek
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Emmet Kelly
Synopsis:
Based on a real scandal where a cobbler posing as a captain absconded
with the treasury of a Berlin suburb in 1906. [RF]
1.04 Telephone Time: BORDERS AWAY
(Away Boarders title "Curtain Time")
29-Apr-1956 CBS Sun
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Arthur Space
James Dobson
Scotty Beckett
Synopsis 1:
The WW2 story of Captain Dan Gallery. He convinced his superiors he could
capture a German U-boat. See the top secret preparation, the planning for
booby traps, and the actual boarding and capturing of the U-505 German submarine.
This harrowing feat led to the capture of the German code books which helped shorten the war. [TA]
Synopsis 2:
The capture of German submarine U-505, the only German sub ever captured in
World War II
—and on display for decades in Chicago at the Museum of Science and Industry. [JFM]
1.05 Telephone Time: THE MYSTERY OF CASPAR HAUSER
06-May-1956 CBS Sun
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Connie Gilchrist ... Anna
Henry Daniell ...... Von Feuerbach
John Parrish ....... Warden Hill
Robert Barrat ...... Dr. Graff
Sidney Gordon ...... Hansel
Terrence de Marney.. Burgermeister
Wright King ........ Hans
Michael Landon ...... Caspar
Synopsis:
In 1830, a tortured 17-year-old is found lying on a street in Nuremberg. [RF]
1.06 Telephone Time: THE STEPMOTHER
13-May-1956 CBS Sun
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Frances Karath ..... Elizabeth
James Anderson ..... Tom Lincoln
Rita Lynn .......... Sarah Lincoln
Ronald R. Foster ... Dennis (as Ronald Foster))
Ronnie Lee ......... Abe Lincoln
Susan Whitney ...... Abe's Sister
Synopsis:
Follwing the death of his spouse, Tom Lincoln brings home a new wife.
Young Abe resents his new stepmother, but she slowly wins him over with her kindness. [RF]
1.07 Telephone Time: TIME BOMB
20-May-1956 CBS Sun (rerun 02Sep56)
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Osa Massen
Steven Geray
Synopsis:
A desperate husband races against time to develop a
synthetic insulin for his diabetic wife in Shanghai. [RF]
1.08 Telephone Time: EMPEROR NORTON'S BRIDGE
27-May-1956 CBS Sun
(aka Emperor Norton)
Producer Jerry Stagg
Written by Donald S. Sanford
Directed by Roy Kellino
Director of photography Paul Ivano
Editor George Luckenbacher
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Edgar Stehli
Jan Merlin
Ted De Corsia
Sean McClory
Carleton G. Young
Salvador Baguez
Robert Tafur
Sammee Tong
Robert Bice
Ralph Neff
Synopsis:
San Francisco's most famous eccentric becomes rich during the Gold Rush.
He eventually loses it all, but in the meantime, declares himself
"Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico".
1.09 Telephone Time: THE MAN WHO BELIEVED IN FAIRY TALES
03-Jun-1956 CBS Sun
Producer Jerry Stagg
Teleplay by Norman Lessing and Donald S. Sanford
Story by John Nesbitt
Directed by Laszlo Benedek
Director of photography Paul Ivano
Editor George Luckenbacher
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Robert Middleton ... Heinrich Schliemann
Walter Kingsford ... Papa Schliemann
Kathleen Hughes .... Mrs. Schliemann
John Abbott ........ Russian Assistant
John Mylong
Fred Essler
Stafford Repp
Dan Seymour
Ramsay Hill
Herbert Deans
Synopsis:
Story of Heinrich Schliemann's quest for truth and riches in the myths he read
about.
1.10 Telephone Time: HARRY IN SEARCH OF HIMSELF
10-Jun-1956 CBS Sun
Host: John Nesbitt
1.11 Telephone Time: FELIX THE FOURTH
17-Jun-1956 CBS Sun
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez
Argentina Brunetti
Synopsis:
A Havana, Cuba postman raised his own funds to make the trip to St. Louis
for the 1904 Olympic Games. In New Orleans, on his way to the games,
he loses his money to sharpers. [RF]
1.12 Telephone Time: SMITH OF ECUADOR
24-Jun-1956 CBS Sun
Teleplay by Donald S. Sanford
Material by C.M. Nelson
Directed by Lewis Allen
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Edgar Barrier
Eve Miller
Kenneth Tobey
Martin Garralaga
John Maxwell
Abel Franco
Victor Millan
Alex Montoya
Anna Navarro
George Navarro
Rosa Rey
Mel Welles
Rosa Turich
Synopsis:
The story of an American engineer's rescue work after the earthquake of August
6, 1949 in Ecuador.
Synopsis 2:
In 1949, Harold Smith was building a dam in Rio Verde in Ecuador, a hundred
miles south of his headquarters in Quito. After the earthquake, all
communication with the dam,
even by radio, was cut off. Smith immediately organized a caravan of heavy
equipment to rush to the dam site for rescue work and repairs. Within hours
after the disaster
he reached the town of Ambato, hardest hit by the quake. Instead of continuing
on to the dam, he organized the work and spent two days getting out the injured
and cleaning
up debris. Then he spent another week clearing earthquake blocked roads to the
interior. When radio communication with the dam was restored, Smith found that
the structure
had not been damaged nor had any Americans been injured. The earthquake killed
4,000 people in Ecuador, 560 of them in Ambato. [RF]
1.13 Telephone Time: THE GINGERBREAD MAN
01-Jul-1956 CBS Sun (rerun 02Jul1957)
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Barry Truex ........ Captain Hamilton
Celia Lovsky ....... Mama Ludwick
Hugo Haas .......... Christopher
Norbert Schiller
Synopsis:
During the Revolutionary War, a German baker becomes a secret agent
of the Continental Army. He enters British camps as a civilian
and talks to Hessian soldiers. [RF]
1.14 Telephone Time: JOYFUL LUNATIC
Hal Roach prod #9581
08-Jul-1956 CBS Sun
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Alexander Scourby ....... Joseph Priestly
Peggy Converse
Synopsis:
The story of Joseph Priestly, a minister and scientist. He is dismissed by his
congregation because his parishioners do not approve of his scientific experiments. [RF]
1.15 Telephone Time: THE KEY
15-Jul-1956 CBS Sun (rerun 10Mar57)
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Beverly Washburn ......... Laura
Kevin McCarthy ....... Samuel Howe
Howard Wendell ....... Dr. Mussey
Richard Hale ....... Father Howe
Synopsis:
The story of the deaf, blind and mute Laura Bridgman.
The Helen Keller of the 19th Century, Laura was only two years old when
she lost her sight and hearing after an attack of scarlet fever. [RF]
1.16 Telephone Time: GRANDPA CHANGES THE WORLD (verified on film)
Hal Roach prod #9594
22-Jul-1956 CBS Sun (rerun 16Jul1957)
Produced by Jerry Stagg
Written by John Nesbitt
Directed by Lewis Allen
Director of photography Paul Ivano
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Thomas Mitchell .......... Andrew Hamilton (Grandpa)
Patricia Blair .......... Mary (as Patricia Blake)
Terrence De Marney ...... District Attorney
Reginald Denny ........ Governor Casby
John Eldredge ........ Alexander
Anthony Eustrel ........ Chief Justice
Peter Hansen ......... Smith
Barney Phillips ....... Zenger
Leonard Carey ...... Associate Justice
George Pelling ..... Bailiff
*
Production Supervision ... Sidney Van Keuren
Production Coordinator ... E.H. Goldstein
Production Manager ....... James W. Lane
Assistant Director ....... Bruce Fowler Jr.
Edited by ................ Charles Freeman
Art Director ............. William Ferrari
Photographic Effects ..... Jack R. Glass
Set Decorations .......... Charles Thompson
Sound .................... Frank McWhorter & Joel Moss
Casting .................. Ruth Burch
Wardrobe ................. Frank Delmar
Makeup ................... Jack P. Pierce
Hair Stylist ............. Carmen Dirigo
Synopsis:
Far more than courtroom drama, this TRUE STORY about how Alexander Hamilton,
attorney to William Penn and the only colonial admitted to the English Bar, came
out of retirement to defend a printer accused of libeling the Governor by printing
the truth in his newspaper about his corrupt activities. The principals established in
this case, as so eloquently argued by Hamilton, had a profound influence on the
drafting of the Bill of Rights several years latter. "Gentlemen, with an impartial,
uncorrupted verdict we assure ourselves, our posterity, the right, the liberty of
speaking and writing the truth." As author and host, John Nesbitt says at the
conclusion of this drama, "The great footnote to this story, of course, lies in
the Bill of Rights. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Old Andrew Hamilton
that day in court was not so much defending his client with law that was already in
existence, but was actually creating law that would not be clearly written down for
generations to come. And when the Bill of Rights was first being written, there on
the table lay a transcript of the case which we have just seen. Which is why we
tried to say in our title that Andrew Hamilton, or Grandpa, did change the world." [RF]
1.17 Telephone Time: AGAIN THE STARS
Hal Roach prod #9187
29-Jul-1956 CBS Sun (rerun 23May57)
Host: John Nesbitt
starring
Robert Ellenstein
Nestor Paiva
Synopsis:
Dr. Philippe Pinel tries to modernize mental therapy. [RF]
*Note: Syndication airing on Curtain Time 15Oct59.
############### Telephone Time
###############
############### end of season 1 ##############
##############################################
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